A roundup of quotes from Peyton Manning, coach Gary Kubiak and others following the Broncos’ 19-13 victory over the Ravens.

GARY KUBIAK, COACH

On the defense’s control of the game:
“It might be the greatest defensive football game I’ve ever been a part of as a coach — on both sides of the ball. It was just tremendous. It was a battle all day. Offensively, early in the game, we had a chance to make a couple big plays we didn’t make. Then it was battle from then on, but (we) found a way to be at our best at the end with a huge drive. Defensively, like I said, we were at it all day long and then make the great play there at the end. That was (Darian Stewart). Just a tremendous play between he and David (Bruton Jr.) in the back end.”

On his rhythm with QB Peyton Manning:
“It’s got to be better than it was today. I’ve got to help him out better. Obviously, we’ve got to play better than we did offensively. Whether it’s run or pass, it doesn’t matter, but he kept battling and had us in the right situations there at the end of the game and made some big third downs. That’s part of this league — got to keep battling — but we’ve always got to get better.”

On why Manning was sacked more today than usual:
“I think it’s a combination of things. Obviously, we can’t get him hit like that. I’m thinking of three sacks right now. One was a play-action pas and one was a max protection that we busted. I want to say two of them might have been max protection. I’m thinking of three of the sacks; I don’t know if there was four or not. We’re in the best possible protection we can be in and we’re getting sacked. I’ve got to go back and look at it. We’re going to have to play a lot better. We as coaches have got to figure out how we can help them play better up front because we’ve got to protect them.”

Denver Broncos fans care about Von Miller’s well-being as a person, sure. But forgive them if selfishly their primary concern is Miller doesn’t trip up again. He has proven to be a great defensive player. In his first two NFL seasons, he had 30 sacks in 31 games.

He’s already missed a significant portion of his third season and if he messes up again, he could be suspended for a full season. Why should they trust he will stay clean from now on?

“Trust, it’s hard to earn it. And it’s easy to lose it,” he said. “I don’t have a problem with that. I’m not going anywhere. I’m excited about the opportunity to earn everybody’s trust back.

“I can’t sit here today and say this and say that. It wouldn’t be logical. I can tell them that I’m taking it one day at a time and doing everything in my power to never be an issue. But I have to take it one day at a time.”

I have talked to people close to the Peyton Manning situation and the expectation as of today is the bidding war will come down to Mike Shanahan’s Washington Redskins and the Miami Dolphins.

The New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks will also make a run, as well up to three or four others.

The Broncos will not be in the bidding, although where Manning lands will create a domino affect that could affect which free-agent quarterback Denver does sign to back up Tim Tebow.

Indirectly, Manning was a reason why Shanahan decided to move away from quarterback Jake Plummer following the Broncos’ AFC championship game loss in the 2005 season. Losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers at home in the conference championship left Shanahan and his coaching staff with the consolation prize of coaching the AFC Pro Bowl team in Hawaii.

Denver Broncos head coach John Fox talks to the media during a season-ending news conference at Broncos headquarters in Englewood, Colo., Monday, Jan. 16, 2012.

John Fox gathered his team for a final meeting at Dove Valley 24 hours ago before players were dismissed for the offseason. That meeting occurred after the final player media availability inside the team locker room.

Today, Fox gave reporters a short glimpse into the message he relayed to the team as they move into the offseason and prepare for 2012.

“I promised all of them that we would do whatever it takes to win the Big Boy championship and not just the AFC West championship,” Fox said during a season-ending press conference Monday.

I talked to Broncos’ safety Brian Dawkins in the locker room Friday. He left the impression that despite missing two practices this week with an ankle injury — his first two missed practices of the season — he will play Sunday against the San Diego Chargers.

“You just have to be smart about these things,” he said.

Don’t misunderstand. Even though Dawkins is in his 16th NFL season, he needs to practice during the week if he is to be effective on Sunday.

All 32 NFL teams will undergo a new training program that focuses on proper conduct in the workplace, the league announced Friday. The ruling is in response to an incident last week in the New York Jets locker room in which a female reporter was allegedly subject to verbal harassment by players.

The NFL investigated and determined that there was “unprofessional conduct” around TV Azteca reporter Ines Sainz, who was credentialed by the team to interview quarterback Mark Sanchez. The league also determined that the Jets organization “acted promptly to correct the situation,” according to a statement from the NFL.

Jets owner Woody Johnson will underwrite the new training program for all 32 teams, which will also be given to rookies in 2011.

Darrel Reid, a Broncos backup linebacker, invaluable special teams player and a strong locker room presence, underwent surgery this week on his left knee.

He will miss the entire offseason although the Broncos hope he will be recovered in time for the start of training camp in July.

After finishing third on the team with 4.0 sacks, Reid had suffered extensive cartilage damage in his knee and had sought several medical opinions at season’s end. He bypassed microfracture surgery, opting instead for a unique operating procedure that had only been performed on one other NFL player.

After playing four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts as a special teams/backup defensive tackle, Reid became a free agent last year and signed a three-year, $6.8 million deal with the Broncos, who moved him to outside linebacker in their 3-4 defensive system.

Brandon Marshall celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl at Sun Life Stadium on Sunday in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Doug Benc/Getty Images)

It’s when, not if.

It’s when Brandon Marshall is traded, not if. It’s not what the Broncos are going to get in return. It’s what Marshall’s future area code is going to be.

The issue isn’t so much that the Broncos are going to trade Marshall, most likely in March. The real story here is why.

Clearly, Pat Bowlen and Joe Ellis, his right-hand man, had an agenda when they hired Josh McDaniels to replace Mike Shanahan. It wasn’t just a matter of Bowlen having grown tired of the Broncos’ wretched defense or his concern that the franchise needed a fresh face and a new voice.

We’re still more than a week away from the next meaningful football game (Pro Bowl? Please ….) and one of the Super Bowl participants is dominating headlines — for everything, it seems, but actual football.

Yes, the New Orleans Saints haven’t quite managed the art of “limiting distractions” during this long layoff between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.

– The Saints have banned a reporter from the Web site, NewOrleans.com, from covering its practices, press conferences and open locker room sessions this week. It is the latest incident in battle between the reporter and his Web site and the team, dating back to the regular season. As a beat reporter, it is extremely disheartening to read about how the Saints have handled the situation, which basically seems to be punishing one writer in particular by trying to stand behind a nebulous “dot com” policy. (The Broncos have been very open and fair with their credentialing policy in my two seasons covering the team, even granting training camp and game credentials to a couple popular Broncos blogs.)

It’s official: Don Martindale is the Broncos new defensive coordinator.

Martindale, who goes by the nickname “Wink”, becomes the Broncos’ fifth defensive coordinator in as many years.

This is a move that will go over very well in the locker room. Wink is well liked by his players, and several had endorsed him for the defensive coordinator job as soon as the job came open about 10 days ago. I asked a linebacker earlier this week to explain why Martindale was a good choice. Here’s what he said:

“Everything. He’s smart, he knows football. He does his research, listens. He’s firm, he has us prepared. Just a good coach.”

But the casual Broncos fan might still be wondering, “Who?”

Unlike the Broncos previous defensive coordinator, Mike Nolan, Martindale isn’t a big NFL name. So here’s a primer on the man who will be calling the Broncos defense in 2010.

Coaching background: After several years coaching at the high school level in Ohio, Martindale spent a decade as a college coach (Notre Dame, defensive assistant 1994-95; Cincinnati, defensive ends, linebackers/special teams 1996-1998; Western Illinois defensive coordinator 1999; Western Kentucky linebackers, defensive coordinator 2001-2003). He got his first NFL job in 2004 in Oakland, and he coached the Raiders’ linebackers through 2008. He joined coach Josh McDaniels’ staff a year ago.

There were plenty of disgusted and disappointed players filling up garbarge bags and carrying out game jerseys in the Broncos locker room Monday morning, but no one seemed to be more affected at the Broncos collapse that kept them out of the playoffs than star pass rusher Elvis Dumervil.

Dumervil couldn’t find a way to explain what happened to the Broncos in their final 10 games, when they went 2-8 to finish 8-8 for the second straight year. But he did know that Sunday’s 44-24 loss to Kansas City wasn’t pretty.

“It was a total embarrassment,” Dumervil said. “I’m sorry the fans had to come out and see something like that.”

Dumervil finished as the NFL’s regular season sack champion, with 17 — a new franchise record. It provided Dumervil with little consolation Monday, though.

“We did a lot good things this year, a lot of guys played with effort, a lot of guys did agood job, a lot of schemes that I thought we were good in. But when it came down to when we needed it, we just didn’t get it done as a team,” Dumervil said. “That’s just the hard facts about it. We can’t undermine the things we did well, but at the end of the day, either ryou get the job done or you don’t. All the things you did individually, or where we were ranked, it doesn’t matter.”

You’ve got to think the Broncos publication staff might want a mulligan on this one.

As we all know quite well by now, Marshall isn’t going to be playing today, because of a hamstring injury and/or attitude problem (depending who’s side of the Marshall-McDaniels mess you choose to believe). And ESPN reported this morning that Marshall (and TE Tony Scheffler) will not be allowed on the sideline or in the locker room.

But at least fans can look at glossy pictures of Marshall in the magazine.

Last night, after returning home from Invesco Field, many hours after the end of the Broncos 20-19 loss to Oakland, I couldn’t really shake the feeling of “What the heck just happened?”

I figured I wasn’t the only one, so I posed the question via our Twitter page (@PostBroncos … follow me, you know you want to! shamelessplugover): What bothered you fans most about the game?

The responses came pouring in, 140 characters at a time.

I’m not going to re-post all of them here, but I will say this: You guys are some savvy fans. Plenty of responses about blocking schemes and play-calling, and very few just calling players (or the opponent) names.

Basically, the responses can fit into four categories: Playcalling, Personnel, Production, and Pride. (See what I did there?)

Playcalling: Whatever pass you fans might have given Josh McDaniels after the 6-0 start … well, that’s all over it seems. Plenty of you were hard on the coach (and yes, the head coach is the one calling the offensive plays), particularly for run plays and plays in the red zone. Several people were critical of the defensive calls, too, especially late in the game.

“stretch the field more..to many sideline passes..nothing deep..or over the middle..get the crossing patternn few picks in there” — kcicyber

“I thought the Off. RZ play calling was atrocious. Backside D help vs run game was ugly. Too much overpursuit by D in general.” — KoryIanPhear

“I wonder why we kicked the fg to go up by 6 rather than go for the kill?” — jetterywilliams

“how many tackles did Branch had at or near the line of scrimmage. That was the diff. Never making them pay for stacking the box” — steveoreilly

“Playcalling. Against 8 in the box, the Broncos finally attacked deep on the last two plays of the game. Too little, too late.” — BroncoTalk

Personnel: And by “personnel,” I mean, Peyton Hillis. The clammor to see the second-year running back/fullback has not quieted at all, and will probably only get louder after he did not take an offensive snap (at either position) against the Raiders, despite Correll Buckhalter being inactive with an ankle injury. Buckhalter is expecting to be back next week at Philadelphia, further lessening the chance for playing time for Hillis.

“My second beef is shared by many fans. A running game w/o Hillis. Did Josh McDaniels not watch any Broncos games last yr? DAMN!” — jefferywilliams (who also commented about short-yardage failures)

“what bugged me? Vanilla game plan. Playing not to lose. Running every 1st down. And Jordan ahead of Hillis is asinine. Ugh.” — JasonWPhillips

“What bugged me most was no Peyton Hillis in short yardage situations. He’s the only one who can drive a pile!” — gpackiam

“Where is Peyton Hillis??? This guy proved his worth last season. Now it’s like he’s being punished.” — esmagnus

Production: There’s plenty of things that can be included here, from offense, defense and special teams. In the locker room postgame, players almost unanimously (at least the ones I talked to) said it was their execution, not the plays that were called, that was the biggest problem.

“And 3 different QBs playing for the Raiders in the game and it seemed to be throwing Denver off instead of vice versa!” — esmagnus

“I hate when moreno gets the ball, when he’s not fumbling he runs into a pile or dives/trips when facing a running hole” — JackTrujillo

“what bugged me most: inability to take advantage of golden opportunities! First 2 FG’s should have been TD’s.” — maddyfacepants

“Bugged me most… execution failures 14 games in, shouldn’t be happening as much as they are.” — Mgrabinger

Pride: Now here’s where the all the “I can’t believe we lost to the Raiders” posts come in. The Chargers might be the bigger rival currently, because they are the Team on Top, but seems you all still can’t stand the black and silver.

“not playing like they want to win, I mean this was the Raiders for petes sake!!!!!!!!!” — sparksgrandma

“i’m bothered by the fact that the Broncos are have lost games at home against the Raiders. That is just wrong” — shamika1035

“looked like a late season shanny team to me, hello 2006” — mtokBronco

“that we lost to russel, questionably one of the worst qb in the nfl right now” — broncophsycho15

By Mike Klis<
The Denver Post<
Two years ago, Broncos quarterback Chris Simms got two shots of his own blood re-injected into his painful throwing elbow.
Monday night, Simms had just left a card game with some of his friends when he got a call from one of the remaining players who said his name had just crawled against the bottom of a sports channel as part of a story regarding a Canadian doctor under investigation for human growth hormone and the drug Actovegin.
Welcome to the 21st century sports world where even the most upstanding athletes can risk having their reputations sullied for seeking cutting-edge medical treatment.
“”It’s screwed up,’’ Simms said. “”Here I am in the locker room today and everybody’s riding me on it. And now some people are going to have a perception because they see my name next to HGH. It’s a little disheartening.’’
Simms said that while his inflamed elbow was addressed by Dr. Anthony Galea during visits to his Toronto office in 2007, treatment did not involve HGH or Actovegin, a drug produced from calf’s blood.
“”I’ve never taken HGH,’’ Simms said. “”And (Actovegin), I’ve never heard of it.’’
Despite the blow to what had been his impeccable reputation, Simms remains a staunch supporter of Dr. Galea, a widely known sports medicine recovery expert who is under investigation by federal authorities in two countries after his medical bag containing HGH and Actovegin was confiscated at the Canada-United States border.
“”Honestly, he saved my career,’’ Simms said. “”He helped me in so many ways. The doctor is truly a great guy and I have no doubt he was not involved in anything shady at all. He’s a stand up guy. He cares about people. You go up there, it’s not like the whole place is full of professional athletes. There are normal every-day patients in the office from age 10 to 50.’’
Simms explained he visited Dr. Galea in his Toronto office roughly four or five times during a three-month period in 2007.
The lefty quarterback had wound up with elbow problems as he struggled to overcome complications from emergency spleen surgery in September, 2006. Specifically, the surgery left Simms with scar tissue in his core area that made it difficult for him to straighten.
“”I basically had muscles in my core that were not functioning at all,’’ Simms said. “”So he got that working right. And then because my core wasn’t working right, my elbow starting hurting because I was throwing all arm. And I did take two plasma shots in my elbow. There’s nothing to hide about it.’’
Galea specializes in a recovery technique that involves drawing blood from a patient, spinning it so the red blood cells are separated from platelets that are loaded with proteins, and then re-injecting no more than teaspoon of the plasma-rich blood back into the injured area.
The plasma catalyzes the growth of new soft-tissue or bone cells.
“”It’s not blood doping,’’ Simms said. “”Blood doping involves injecting oxygen cells. This is just separating the white and red blood (cells) and inject the white blood back into the inflamed area.’’
According to a New York Times story, Dr. Galea, who has treated hundreds of professional athletes besides Simms _ including golfer Tiger Woods, who had the plasma injections in his surgically repaired knee last year, Olympic swimmer Dana Torres and former Broncos receiver Javon Walker _ is under investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for smuggling, advertising and selling unapproved drugs into the United States.
Dr. Galea was arrested in October after his assistant was stopped at the Canadian-United States border in September. Dr. Galea’s medical bag was in the car.
HGH is considered a banned, performance-enhancing substance by the NFL, although it doesn’t test for it because it’s undetectable through urine-analysis.
Dr. Galea, 50, has said the HGH was for his own personal use and while he has used Actovegin to help Toronto Argonaut football players recover from injuries, he said he has not prescribed the drug to Woods or any other U.S. athletes.
“”I know he took HGH. He told me that a while ago, because he has physical issues himself,’’ Simms said. “”Nonetheless, if I had something wrong with me again, he’d be the first guy I’d call. If any of my friends asked me, he’s the first guy I’d refer him to.’’

Broncos safety Brian Dawkins was on the field for about 15 minutes at Arrowhead Stadium going through some light drills with strength and conditioning coach Rich Tuten.

Dawkins missed two days of practice this week and was limited in Friday’s workout because of an ankle injury. Rookie Darcel McBath had worked with the starters in Dawkins’ spot.

Dawkins did some light jogging, backpedaling and did some work that required him to pivot both directions. He then returned to the locker room with Tuten. He appeared to indicate he wanted to try to play in Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.

Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels screams at a official during the first quarter of play against the New York Giants Thursday Nov. 26, 2009 at Invesco Field at Mile High. (Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post)

I once heard locker rooms for professional sports teams described as life with the volume turned up. And it’s no different on the sidelines.

It’s a surreal existence, pro sports, and never is it more surreal than during those three hours on NFL game day. No other sport in any other league at any other level is as violent and emotional as the NFL. It makes men who are otherwise cool, calm and collected act like, to quote a famous NFL Films sound bite, a bunch of crazed dogs.

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.